This painting is called…“Truth coming out of her well” by Jean-Léon Gérôme 1896.
It tells the story of when the Truth and the Lie met on a summery day. The Lie said to the Truth: “It’s a marvelous day today”! The Truth looked up to the skies cautiously, and saw that indeed the day was really beautiful.
They spent a lot of time together, ultimately arriving beside a well. The Lie said to the Truth: “The water is very nice, let’s take a bath together!” The Truth, once again suspicious, tested the water and discovered that it indeed was very nice.
They undressed and started bathing. After some time, suddenly, the Lie came out of the water, put on the clothes of the Truth and ran away. The furious Truth came out of the well and ran everywhere to find the Lie and to get her clothes back.
The World, seeing the Truth naked, turned its gaze away, with disgust and rage. The poor Truth returned to the well and disappeared forever, hiding therein, its shame.
Since then, the Lie travels around the world, dressed as the Truth, satisfying the needs of society, because, the World, in any case, harbors no wish at all to meet the naked Truth.